With December 7th right around the corner, and Veterans Day just a few weeks behind us, I thought it would be a good time to remember some comments made by true American patriots when they were confronted with negative comments about our country:
1). JFK’s Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, was in France in the early 60’s when DeGaulle decided to pull out of NATO. DeGaulle said he wanted all U.S. military out of France as soon as possible. Rusk responded, “Does that include those who are buried here?” DeGaulle did not respond – you could have heard a pin drop.
2). When in England at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example of “empire building” by George Bush. He answered by saying, “Over the years the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return.”
3). There was a conference in France where a number of international engineers were taking part, including French and American. During a break, one of the French engineers came back into the room saying, “Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What does he intend to do, bomb them?” A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly: “ Our carriers have three hospitals onboard that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear powered and can supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3000 people three meals a day, they can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day, and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and injured to and from their flight deck. We have eleven such ships. How many does France have?”
4). A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a Naval conference that included Admirals from the U.S., English, Canadian, Australian, and French Navies. At a cocktail reception he found himself standing with a large group of officers that included personnel from most of those countries. Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks but a French Admiral suddenly complained that, whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn only English. “Why is it that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French?” The American Admiral replied, “Maybe it’s because the Brits, Canadians, Aussies, and Americans arranged it so you wouldn’t have to speak German.”
Finally,
5). Robert Whiting, an elderly gentleman arrived in Paris by plane. At French Customs, he took a few minutes to find his passport in his carry on. “You have been to France before Monsieur? “ the customs officer asked sarcastically. Mr.Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously. “Then you should know enough to have your passport ready.” The American said, “The last time I was here, I didn’t have to show it.” “Impossible…Americans always have to show their passports on arrival in France.” The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look. Then he quietly explained, “Well,when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in 1944 to help liberate this country, I couldn’t find a single Frenchman to show a passport to.”
With all of the revisionist history being taught in our classrooms today, and with statues of great heroes being removed everywhere you look, it is easy for many to forget what a great Nation we are blessed and privileged to live in. Worse yet, our youngest generations are often taught that America is “The Great Satan” rather than the greatest Nation to ever inhabit this planet. America is a beacon of hope for the rest of the world, is the most generous Nation on the planet, and our youngest citizens need to learn this so that “the light of the World” doesn’t slowly fade into irrelevance and obscurity.
